Nejiten 100 Themes
by Rin-chii
Summary: 100 Nejiten Theme drabbles. [7. Drown: …It was probably about then that she lost control of her chakra and fell in…]
1. Life

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoy this one! When the boys return from the Sasuke Retrieval Mission, it was probably hard on all the girls. Especially those who's teammates were almost killed.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. If I owned Naruto, then Nejiten would be canon. Simple as that.

* * *

_**Nejiten: 100 Themes**_

_**Theme 1 - Life**_

When he had finally woken up, it was as if he had come back to life.

Or at least it was to her.

She had sat her so many hours a day, sometimes in the night too, if the nurses and Tsunade-sama allowed it. Whenever she sat there, the nurses noticed, she seemed traumatized. You probably would be too if you saw your teammate - comrade, friend, _best _friend, _closest friend_ - was lying in that hospital bed, motionless.

The only way anyone could tell he was alive was the slow rising and falling of his chest and the beeping of the machine next to him. If it stopped…

Sometimes when she sat there, they noticed, she would be on the verge of tears. Many, many, times she was close to crying. However, being a kunoichi, she held those tears back. It hurt the nurses the way she looked down at him. There was a pain in her eyes completely evident. Every beep she heard made her head spin. What that beeping could do to her, only she would know.

Every beep made her worry "will it keep beeping at that steady pace?" No one ever really knew - no matter how many times her sensei, friends, and the doctors told her - if the beeping would stop. If it stopped…

And if she heard that long _beeeeeeeeeee_……

Sometimes the nurses wondered why she stayed there so often. It probably _did_ hurt her as much as they imagined to sit there every day and watch her teammate slowly recover. She had even seen the ring of fresh skin on his chest, just missing his heart.

She was rejoiced to hear that no one had died on the failed mission. Everyone was. But all the kunoichis of the Konoha eleven were still in a panic. As expected, they all came back with injuries.

Sakura had worried.

She probably worried the most out of everyone in the village.

Hinata had worried. But she trusted Kiba not to get himself killed. And she knew he and Akamaru worked together better than any boy and his dog. But she still cried when she heard he had been injured badly.

Tenten and Ino worried also, almost as much as Sakura had, for both of their teammates had gone out to try and bring Sasuke back.

Tenten saw the tears in Ino's eyes when she heard her teammates were alive. And she saw the tears fall when she heard of Chouji's critical condition. Ino dried her tears and tried her best to bring herself together. They wouldn't like seeing her cry, now would they?

"They're alive and that's what's important," she told herself. And she headed towards the hospital with Chouji's father. (If she would see Shikamaru, he would get a good punch and _loud_ scolding for making her worry so much.)

Tenten had vaguely wondered to herself if she could do the same thing. Apparently, she couldn't.

* * *

"Neji?"

His eyes slowly fluttered open at the call of his name.

He turned to the source of the voice, as quickly as his stiff body would let him.

"Tenten?"

He saw her bottom lip quiver a bit before the tears started streaming. "You're alive!" she said, as she buried her face into his chest. "Thank Kami-sama you're alive..." she sniffed "you're alive..."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, it's a start, I guess. How many "pretties" do I have to put before "please" to get you guys to review?? Here I go…. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty…. 


	2. Childhood

**A/N: **I had trouble thinking of what would be good for this theme. I hope it's okay. I just decided to have them first meet when they were younger and had no idea who the other person is. Does that make sense? It made sense in my head. Sort of like in _Similarities,_ that one-shot I wrote, you know, how they met at the hospital when they were like three? Yeah, it's like that. I suggest you read that. In this drabble, they are… how about 5? Yeah they're five-years-old. Okay, here we go!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I don't even work on the staff. If I worked on the staff, I could convince Kishimoto-san to make Nejiten canon or even give Tenten a good background story (every Tenten fan's dream… make 'em give her a background story!!!! FOOOOAAAAMM o).

* * *

_**Nejiten: 100 Themes**_

_**Theme 2: Childhood**_

_Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink. Thunk._ Step, Step. _Shhink._

If this is starting to annoy you, I should tell you what those noises are. A little girl awaiting her start at the Academy, was practicing with a kunai.

Yes, a real kunai.

No, she didn't steal it from her dad.

In fact, the complete opposite. Her dad forged it for her and gave it to her.

A brave thing to give something so sharp to a five-year old.

She was practicing her aim in one of Konoha's many training grounds. She didn't know it, but she wasn't supposed to be here. If she knew it, then all those noises above wouldn't be bothering you. Okay, I'll get back to the main point of the story.

Even at this young age, she had perfect aim. Ever since her mother died two and a half years ago, she made a vow to become a great ninja, like the legendary sannin Tsunade, for her mother.

And since she only brought one kunai, she had to keep running to the target to retrieve it. Don't worry it annoyed her, too.

And she was completely oblivious to the fact that there was a pair of eyes watching her from a tree.

A pair of _white-lavender_ eyes.

A pair of white-lavender eyes that belonged to a _boy._

Said boy was amazed by her perfect aim. Not that he would mention it out loud. After all, after the death of his father last year, he became quite quiet.

There was something that bothered him though. She wasn't supposed to be here. Believe it or not, he knew this place well. (Secretly,) He came to train here. He didn't like to train at home anymore, with his father… erm… not there to train him. This was his father's training grounds when he was in a three-man cell.

And the fact that she was here when she wasn't supposed to (well, he wasn't either but his young and still growing pride told him that since his father had brought him here sometimes, he was allowed to come here and no one else was. That was a long run on sentence.) made him really, really mad.

_Thunk._

"What are you doing here?"

The girl turned when she heard his voice.

"Uh, um, I'm tr-training."

He jumped out of the tree with a scowl on his face. He looked at the target. Then back at her. The target. Her. The target. Her.

To her surprise, he walked over to the target and pulled out the kunai. He threw it back at her.

Now he's surprised. Why?

She caught it expertly. If she was any other girl (heck, maybe those weird girls his age that follow him around and ask him if he wants candy) he would've expected a dodge and maybe a scream. Then some tears. But she just caught it.

"Do that again."

"Wh-what?"

"Hit the target."

"O-Oh. Okay."

She threw it and it hit the center. Yes, the bulls-eye. Again.

So, he pulled it out and threw it back at her. She caught it. Yes, expertly. Again.

"Again."

"Wh-why?"

"I wanna see if you could keep hitting the bulls-eye."

"Why?"

"I've never seen anyone hit the center like that before."

"Oh. Okay then." So she did what he asked. And he threw it back at her again. When she caught it this time, he was pissed. Well, as pissed as a five-year-old can get without throwing a tantrum. He pulled out a shuriken from his pocket (he keeps them in his pocket, unaware of the fact that he could get hurt if he moves around too much). He threw it at her.

She caught it. Again. "Hey! What was that for?!" She threw it on the ground.

He just threw another one. She caught it. Threw it on the ground. A kunai. She caught it. Threw it on the ground. Another kunai. Same thing. Now she was getting pissed. As pissed as a five-year-old can get without throwing a tantrum.

"Will you stop it? I think you're really trying to hurt me! What did I do?!"

She looked at him with angry eyes. He looked at her with curious eyes.

"You're pretty good."

She blinked. Twice. "Huh?"

"I said you're pretty good. You have really good aim. What's your name?"

"Um… my daddy said not to talk to strangers and since I've already talked to you, I don't think I should tell you my name." She played with the tips of her pigtails nervously. He studied her for a few seconds. She looked so _innocent._

"Hn. I'll just tell you mine then. I'm Neji. Hyuuga Neji."

"Hyuuga Neji? I heard that Hyuuga are supposed to be really good shinobi." That just made his young, still growing pride grow a little more.

"We are."

"Hey, what are you kids doing here?!"

They turned to the voice. When they saw it was an adult shinobi, they ran for it. Okay, they didn't run, but they stood there with a scared look. The girl did anyway.

"Um, sorry mister. I thought I could practice my throwing here. I didn't know I wasn't allowed here." The way she stood with her big brown eyes looking so innocent and fingering one of the kunai in her hand made the man soften a bit.

He sighed. "It's okay. But you kids should head home. It's just about lunch time isn't it?"

The two kids nodded their heads and ran. Seriously this time.

----------------------------------

"Okay, class now--. Oh, hello there." The teacher looked towards the doorway. A man stood there and holding onto his two fingers was a little girl with her hair in pigtails wearing a pink shirt. Oh, did I mention she was bouncing up and down on her toes? It was either excitedly or nervously….

"Heh-he," the man said. "Sorry for bringing her late. Honestly, I slept in. It's a good thing she jumped on me, or she would've been later." His head inclined in his daughter's general direction.

"It was the only way to wake you up daddy. I kept screaming your name, but you wouldn't wake up."

"Heh-he. There was a long meeting yesterday. I was tired," he said. It sounded like he was trying to defend himself against his daughter. His five-year-old daughter.

"But you always said that a good shinobi is aware of everything going on around him, physically and mentally," She said, looking up at her father. "And that a good shinobi should _always_ be prepared. You didn't seem prepared this morning." Her little speech was pretty impressive for a five-year-old, except she stuttered on the word "physically".

"Heh-heh-he."

_**Flashback**_

"_Daddy_…"

Snore.

"_DADDY_…"

Snore.

"_DADDY!!!"_

Snore.

Pounce.

"Ouch! What the--- hey! Aw, come on, I'm awake now, you can get off."

"COME ON DADDY! We have to get to the Academy! It's my first day! My first day!"

"Wh-… OH! Come on! We better get going!

_**End Flashback**_

"Um, right, sweetie," he turned to the teacher, "Sorry again for bringing her late."

The teacher (who was sweat dropping) said, "Ah, don't worry Rakurai. I heard about that Jounin meeting. It's no problem. We were just starting."

"Good, good."

The little girl happened to hear a soft "Hn." coming from one of the students. She got a good look at her new classmates. Her eyes drifted about there were only a couple of empty seats and she knew she would have to sit in one of them. For some reason, she didn't want to sit in that one next to this girl there…

_The guy with the big eyebrows looks nice… Hmm… there's also another seat… Hey, it's that guy from the training grounds!_

She noticed the _boy with the white-lavender eyes_. She waved to him. He lifted his hand and waved a bit. Her father and new teacher noticed that little exchange.

"Ahem. So I think she'll be fine. Bye, sweetie."

"Bye Daddy!" With a small hug, he left.

The teacher said, "Well, we were just about to have everyone introduce themselves. So, why don't you go first?"

"Um… okay!" She went to the front of the classroom and faced her classmates with a smile. "Um… sensei, what do I say?"

"Just introduce yourself, tell us what you want to do as a shinobi, and maybe your favorite things to do. You can say some other things, too, if you want."

She nodded her head and smiled again. "Hi! My name is Tenten. Akari Tenten. What I want to do as a shinobi is to fight enemy nin and protect Konoha with my life! I wanna be a great kunoichi like the legendary sannin Tsunade!" The teacher chuckled a bit.

"That man was my daddy, Rakurai. He's a Jounin and makes weapons. My favorite thing to do is play with weapons and help my daddy make them. He lets me test them out sometimes. It's really fun! He says I have perfect aim. Hyuuga Neji even said I have good aim." The teacher blinked. _So, she already knows Neji?_

"Thank you, Tenten. Since you already know Neji, why don't you go ahead and sit next to him." She smiled, nodded, and went to her seat. She was completely unaware of the girls looking at her with wide eyes. One was even glaring (head of his still growing fan club. Right now they liked him because he was good looking).

"Hey, Neji."

"Hn. You shouldn't have mentioned me."

"Why not?"

"There are these girls in the class that follow me around and try to give me candy. I don't think they like the fact that I complimented you."

"Oh. Oh well. It's not my fault. I don't really care if they are mad at me."

"Hn. Girls are so bothersome."

"Hey!?" Whack. "I'm a girl, too, you know!"

"Tenten, Neji, please stop fighting."

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, don't know where the ending came from. But my idea is that Neji thought girls were always weak when they were at the Academy and that mad Tenten not like him so much. But she really did like him and just didn't show it. Yeah. Okay.

Please Review.


	3. Happy

**A/N: **This one was hard to think of. I mean, the word "happy" can be interpreted into different ideas. I actually think this drabble is too "happy" if that's possible. (And some bad humor.) Well, to me this is what happiness is. So read on!

**Warnings: **OOC-ness. Beware.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. That would be cool if I did. But apparently, my life isn't cool.

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_**Nejiten: 100 Themes**_

_**Theme 3 - Happy**_

It was times like this when she felt the world couldn't be better.

The sun shining high. The sky a clear blue. And the clouds looking white and fluffy. As if you could touch them and feel nothing but softness. A field of flowers atop a grassy hill. Marigolds, lilies, daisies, and carnations - all in a place where you wouldn't expect to find them, much less together. With huge far away mountains visible in the distance, colors of purple, brown, and green.

And to top off the scenery, they were underneath the shade of a tree. With a light breeze cooling them off in the lunchtime sun.

It was as if the real world didn't exist.

Their world as shinobi.

_Right now…_

She rolled over onto her stomach and looked at Neji. Then at Lee. Lee was already asleep. She would be drifting into the wonderful world of dreamland soon, too. The grass was too soft and welcoming.

It was their day off and they were spending the entire time relaxing. Gai-sensei had gone off to challenge Kakashi-sensei to another match. Neji and Lee weren't fighting (or trying to start a fight), and there weren't any proclamations about youth and whatnot. It was all so quiet. Nice and quiet. Peace and quiet.

She sighed.

Neji had wanted to train today. Thank goodness they didn't do that. It took a while, but she was able to talk him out of it.

_**Flashback**_

"Oh,_ come __**on,**_ Neji!" she said, tapping her foot away. Tappity - tap - tap. It was actually annoying him. "You can't expect to train _every_ day!"

"Actually, I do."

She huffed. (Well, it was half a huff and half a scoff, but that's beside the point.) "It's our day off, Neji! Learn to relax! Have some fun!"

He had to roll his eyes at that. They were shinobi. When was life supposed to be fun? Or relaxing? It's basically: eat, sleep, bathe, breathe, and kill. But you had to kill to be able to do all the rest.

She sighed one more time. "Besides Neji-kun. We never get to spend time together. If we want to work as a team, we need to bond as a team." She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his reply. He was just staring at her. It would have been gaping if he would have let his jaw drop.

"What?" she said, while shrugging.

He stepped closer towards her. A smirk was nearly on his face. Did he look… amused? "Say that again."

She shrugged again. "What? 'If we want to work as a team, we need to bond as a team?'"

He took another step. "No, the whole thing."

She made an exasperated noise. Then in monotone she said. "'Besides Neji. We never get to spend time together. If we want to work as a team, we need to bond as a team.' There, happy now?"

He chuckled and shook his head, while taking another step towards her. "That's not what you said."

"Well, what did I say then?" He was _really_ testing her patience.

"Think back to your words."

"…well, what?" There goes her foot tapping again. Tap - tap - tap.

He took that final step and closed their distance. She had to look up to look at him. When did he get so tall? He chuckled. "You said Neji-_kun_."

Her face turned that interesting color of red. She took a step back. "Ahem. Erm… uh… right… uh… uh…" she looked at him. His eyebrow rose and there was that smirk on his face that he only made when he was triumphant against her. "Um… and we'll go get Lee also!" she said, finally able to say something that was comprehensible.

God, did his smirk get bigger or something?

"Fine, then. But how about without Lee?"

"… wh-… what?"

"NEJI, MY ETERNAL RIVAL! TENTEN OUR BEAUTIFUL FLOWER! WHAT SHALL WE DO ON OUR WONDEROUS DAY OFF?! Wait a second, did I just hear Neji correctly?"

"Hn. Just drop it Lee."

"MY TEAMMATES HAVE FINALLY DISCOVERED THEIR BURNING FIRE OF YOUTH!"

_**End Flashback**_

She giggled when she remembered that last part. She heard Neji move in the grass next to her. He was already asleep. She shifted to face him.

She twirled the piece of grass in her fingers. It brushed against the bridge of his nose. His eyebrows twitched a bit and he groaned. She scooted back a bit. He reached his arm out and bent forward. "Hmm…"

She twirled it again. Tickling the edge of his nose. "Hmm…" He reached out and grabbed her wrist. He didn't even open his eyes. She let go of the piece of grass. "Tenten…"

"Oh! Sorry Neji! I didn't think you'd wake up."

"Shhhhh… You might wake up Lee."

"Right… sorry…"

His grip on her wrist loosened a bit. After about a minute his breathing was smooth and even.

"Neji?" she whispered.

No response.

"Neji?"

Nothing.

"Neji can you let go of my wrist now?"

He didn't even stir. A light breeze blew some hairs on his face. Great. He's sleeping. And he was holding onto her wrist. Now how's she supposed to move if---

Wait. He's holding onto her wrist. That sentence lingered in her brain for a few seconds. Then she blushed.

She reached for the hand wrapping around her wrist. She looked up at him making sure he was still sleeping. She gently placed her hand on his. No movement. But his hand was warm. Really warm.

Stop thinking about that, Tenten. Focus.

She lifted his index finger. He still didn't move. Next his middle finger. Nothing. She lifted his forefinger. All good so far. Then she slowly slid her hand out of his. Slowly, now. Slowly… slowly…

When her fingertips grazed against his, she let go of his hand.

That probably wasn't a good idea. (Or maybe it was.)

When she let go of his hand, his fingertips curled around hers. (Yeah, maybe it _was_ a good idea.) She flushed.

"Hey! Neji!" she half-whispered-half-shouted.

"Mmmh…"

"Um… can you let go?"

"Just sleep, Tenten."

"…Neji, have you been awake this whole time?"

"Hmm…"

Imagine her face when his grip on her hand tightened. "Just relax," he said, in a half dazed sleep.

With that, she smiled and turned over on her back again. That cloud over there looked like a pillow. A nice, soft, fluffy pillow. Soft pillow…

_Right now… she really felt happy._

--------------------

Lee woke up with a start. He had quite a dream. See, he was sleeping under a tree with Neji and Tenten and then all of a sudden there was this fire! And it was all crazy! But he had to save the squirrels! The poor squirrels! NO! RESCUE THE SQUIRRELS LEE! RESCUE THEM!

And so he woke up like this…

He sat up suddenly, looking around. "NO! DON'T WORRY MY FRIEND SQUIRRELS I'LL SAVE-- why are they holding hands?"

To Lee's horror, "they" started moving. Neji's eyes opened and right away he glared at Lee. He ruined his good nap and… yeah. Tenten's eyes fluttered opened slowly.

"Hmm…? Lee? You're awake? What time is it?…" She looked down and saw that she was holding Neji's hand. How did that happen? Oh yeah. She glared at Lee.

He had to ruin it.

And that made Neji mad.

Which resulted in one of those battles they had.

Happiness doesn't always last.

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**A/N: **They slept for about three hours. And… about the last part. Lee _would_ ruin everything. It would be an accident, but he would ruin it. Plus: Happiness doesn't last. It's just he reality of things. So the moral of the story: Cherish these moments of happiness; They can end quickly.


	4. Rejection

**A/N: **Gosh. The story for this theme came to me quickly. Is that sad? How I can easily picture a story that is… well, depressing? Anyway. The word "Rejection". What does everybody think of? Naturally, "a broken heart" comes to mind. That is what I pictured for Neji and Tenten. However, he isn't breaking her heart directly. He doesn't know about her feelings towards him, so he can't. I hope this story is okay.

**Warnings: **Possibly implied Leeten. _**Possibly**__ implied _Leeten. OOC-ness.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, I'd be rolling in money. I can't even save up my money. It all turns into books.

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_**No gentle winds, seek not my heart,  
For simply ... it has torn apart.  
**_

_**- "Seek Not My Heart" Kit McCallum**_

_**Nejiten: 100 Themes**_

_**Theme 4 - Rejection**_

**Tenten's POV.**

So…

…

So this is what it feels like…

To feel rejected…

…

Although, I wasn't "rejected" per se.

…

But, I heard, when people are rejected by someone they truly love with all their heart…

That heart is crushed. Into a million pieces.

…

My heart feels like it was crushed into dust. And the wind isn't even kind enough to blow away the dust, so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

…

It's not that he looked me in the eye and said "No."

It's not that he refused me over and over.

It's not that he wouldn't talk to me.

Wouldn't tell me things he wouldn't tell anyone else.

It was the complete opposite.

He trusted me.

And I trusted him.

I suppose that's what led me to love him. He was my true friend.

I remember one day, I ranted on about how everybody loves Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, and no one really gave shit about me.

I kept on saying things like "Sakura's so perfect. She has Tsunade-sama - the legendary Tsunade-sama - as a mentor. Perfect eyes, perfect hair, perfect skin. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect." Or maybe even. "How is Ino so beautiful? All the guys think she's so beautiful. Not that she isn't. But I'm just saying there are more things than looks."

He listened. Sometimes he responded to me. One time he said, "People have their own ideas of perfect." Another time, "Beauty comes in different ways."

Damn him.

Damn him.

Whatever he says just makes me love him more and more.

And here I am.

Sitting in a bar with a full bottle of sake in front of me.

I'm not even drinking it.

I don't think I can drink, or eat, or even think properly when they're sitting not too far away from me. On a date.

Yes. A date.

That's why I feel so rejected. I've felt this way since they started dating. A month ago.

I found out from practically everyone. Everyone was talking about it. "Did you hear? The Godaime's apprentice is dating the Hyuuga prodigy."

Everyone was saying that. And each time I heard the civilians whispering it to each other, my heart shattered. Until it became dust.

After I found out, I stopped seeing him. I stopped going to our training sessions. I only saw him for missions and meetings, and even then I distanced myself from him. He didn't even ask why. I remember walking to the grocery store during the time of our usual training sessions. I didn't expect to see him sitting at Ichiraku with her. And he was smiling at her. _Smiling._

And she was laughing. I guess she told him a joke or something.

It took me _years_ to get him to smile.

It only took her _seconds._

My heart twisted.

Yeah, Neji. People have their own ideas of perfect.

I guess you're another person who thinks Sakura is perfect.

Everyone does.

…

…

…

I think the weirdest part is, no one ever mentioned their relationship around me.

Only Ino. She kept asking me if I was okay. The first time she asked me if I was okay was when I noticed that I hadn't smiled in weeks.

"Are you sure you're okay Tenten?" she said to me.

"Yeah, Ino," I answered.

She sighed. "It's about Neji. Isn't it?"

I blinked at her. She didn't say 'Neji and Sakura'. I half expected her to say 'Neji and Sakura'. "I…"

"There's no use hiding it Tenten," she told me. "We were all able to see how you felt towards him."

My heart twisted and turned. "I guess… I guess I just… I just don't feel like what I hoped to give him was enough… everything Sakura gives him is enough… She's one of the best medic nins, and she's training under Tsunade-hime…" There was that stinging feeling in my eyes. I shut them, trying to stop the tears. But I still tasted salt in my mouth. "But… look at me, Ino… I'm just Tenten… the Weapons Mistress…"

I think Ino hugged me then. I can't remember what happened. I was too busy crying.

…

…

…

Lee sat down in the seat in front of me at the table I was at. "Good evening, Tenten-chan." He said.

"Hey, Lee." I didn't look up at him. I just looked down at my hands folded on my lap. My bangs hung in front of my eyes.

"What's wrong?" he said to me.

"Nothing." Nothing. Yeah right.

I guess he saw me looking at 'them' in the corner of my eye, because the next thing he said was, "Tenten-chan. Do you miss him?"

My head snapped up.

"Gai-sensei and I have noticed you haven't been focused during missions and when you're training with us. We told Ino-san about it."

That would explain it.

"I'm sorry, Lee, if I've… slowed down the team… because I've been…"

"Oh, no! I'm not saying that! I'm just saying, everyone's been worried about you."

"Everyone?"

He nodded. "Hinata-sama said that whenever she sees you, the light in your eyes that you once had is gone. Naruto-san says that you don't go to Ichiraku anymore. Kiba-san said that Akamaru was barking at you once and you didn't even notice. Shikamaru said that he doesn't see you at the office as often. Chouji doesn't see you at the dango shop. And you don't train with Neji anymore." He looked at the full sake bottle and then at me again. "What happened to our teams beautiful flower?"

"I…" I looked down at my hands again. "I… don't… know, Lee."

"You know everyone knew how you felt about Neji."

"So I've heard."

"That's why I asked everyone not to speak to you about his relationship with Sakura-chan."

"Aw, that's sweet Lee. Thank you." He smiled at me and gave me a good guy pose. I giggled. Some things really never change no matter how many years pass.

I heard Sakura laughing. I knew she and Neji were having a good time.

"Um, Lee…" I started to get up. "…I think I'm gonna go home now."

He nodded.

"Thank you for keeping me company."

"No problem Tenten-chan. I'm always here for you. Do you want me to walk you home?"

I shook my head and smiled. Leave it to Lee to cheer me up again. "No, but thank you Lee. I'll be fine on my own."

"What about the sake?" he said, while pointing to the still full bottle.

I smiled again. "Just don't drink it." He smiled at me.

Another good guy pose and a "YOSH!"

He took the bottle and got up.

The idiot. He gave it to a random couple at the bar. He even put down the cup I had at the table in front of them. Idiot.

I started walking to the door.

The stars aren't with me today. I just heard Sakura's voice calling me.

"Hey Tenten!"

I looked at her. She was motioning for me to come over. I had half the urge to look at Neji. But I didn't. It was a good thing I didn't.

I shook my head with a half smile.

Sakura's face fell slightly and she mouthed. "Oh, okay."

She turned to the bartender. Probably to order more drinks. As I finished my trek to the door I felt Neji's gaze on me. His gaze boring into my back. In the back of my mind I wondered if he could see how broken my heart was.

I stopped in front of the door. I turned my head to look at him.

The look in his eyes shocked me. It was a sort of pained look.

It made me feel a wave of nostalgia. When everything was better between us; when I still trained with him, when we were the best of friends, he only showed emotions like that to me.

He probably saw the pained look in my eyes.

I hope he knows what he's done to me.

He turned his head and I stepped out of the bar.

--------------------

**A/N: **ph34r the emo-ness. Erm, please review. Happy birthday NEJI-KUN!!!


	5. Dreams

"_Hey, Neji! Come on! And you call me slow!"_

_The brown haired girl ran up the grassy hill. She turned around. "Hurry up! You have to see this! Come on!"_

_He looked around at his surroundings. Purple mountains? Perfectly green-leafed trees? Sunny sky?_

_This place couldn't be real._

"_Neji! Hello? Come on!"_

_Tenten?_

_This place definitely couldn't be real._

"_Erm… I'm coming…"_

"_Well hurry up, slow poke!!"_

_He ran up the hill, rolling his eyes when he reached the top. "What did you want to show me?"_

_She smiled, and pointed out in front of her. "Check this out!"_

_He looked out to what she pointed too._

_The blue lake shimmered in the bright sun and was clear enough for Neji to see the fish swimming around. "Wha…?" How the hell did this get here?_

"_WOOHOO! CANNONBALL!"_

"_Tenten?"_

_SPLASH. Neji found himself wet before Tenten could respond._

"_Tenten?" _

_Tenten popped up out of the water… "You coming in Neji? Come on!"_

_It took a few seconds for Neji's brain to process what was going on._

_Click. Tenten jumped into the lake._

_Click. She got him wet._

_Click. She was wearing… a bikini…_

_Click. Her HAIR was DOWN…_

_Click. She wanted him to go in with her._

_She looked at him skeptically as a blush rose to his face._

"_Neji? You okay?" She waved at him._

_Oh, God. The way the sun reflected off the water and hit her face…_

_  
He looked away quickly so she couldn't see his red face._

"_Neji? Hey Neji?…_

_Neji? Hello?…_

_Neji…_

_Wake up…_

_NEJI! Wake up!_

_HELLO!_

_NEJI! WAKE UP!!"_

Neji's eyes snapped open. Tenten's face was barely an inch from his, with a mean glare pointed at him.

"What?"

"You fell asleep didn't you?"

"What?"

Tenten scooted back. "Well, I don't know! One second you're meditating. The next, you're leaning back against the tree, nearly drooling!"

"Drooling?"

"Yes, drooling! What were you dreaming about?"

He cleared his throat and looked away. "Nothing."

Her eyebrow rose. She could've sworn his face turned the least bit pink… but she shook it off.

"Well… hurry up. We have to meet Gai-sensei and Lee! Come on!"

------

**A/N: **That was a little more drabble-like that what I usually write. (Shrug) I like the idea anyway. I'll be updating _A Place To Call Home_ next.

R' and R'


	6. Hold My Hand

_Against the popular belief of his many fangirls (who thought he was born with his ice-cold heart, just waiting for that one girl who could melt it for him _insert dreamy sigh here_.), Neji had not always been so terse and cold. Rather, it was after he realized his Fate was sealed that he began sulking and brooding._

_There __was one day as a child, when he realized that Fate was not always cruel, and could be kind to you if you are kind to others. For that one half-hour, he thought of Fate as something good and rewarding. Almost like Karma._

_When his father was alive and well (although sometimes he had __big headaches), Neji always had his father's love. That had kept him happy until "what happened" that day Fate turned against him. Most days after "what happened," Neji was upset and never talked to anyone more than he needed to._

_Those days, everyone stayed clear of him. Until those days became everyday and one just couldn't avoid the "sulking, silent" Neji. Even adorable little Hinata-sama who could make the strict Hyuuga elders go "Aaaaawwww…" (not when they're around the clan head, of course.) and was always nice to everyone. She especially stayed clear of him, since he thought "what happened" had been her fault._

_His classmates became afraid of him, not including those fangirls who worship the ground he walks on, and his teachers respected him greatly even though he was of a _much_ younger age._

_But this day, thankfully, does not have the "sulking, silent" Neji. This day, that I am about to explain to you, is the day that Neji believed Karma worked with Fate in his life. It is a story that is important to him (even if he may not realize it; even if it lasted only for a short time)._

_It is the day he met the girl who was named after the heavens. (and always seemed to be everywhere, as her name also meant.)_

_Her name was Tenten._

-

Hyuuga Neji, as happy as he could be, was looking for his father in the forest. He had said something this morning about "meeting old friends" and "genin and chuunin team." He couldn't remember what it was. Neji just knew his father would be with some people his age in an old training ground.

He did _not plan_ and _not expect_ to meet this girl.

This girl who was crying when it was a beautiful day with nice fluffy clouds in the sky.

At first, he couldn't see who she was, but her muffled crying stood out in the peaceful silence.

He couldn't tell if she was male or female by the sound of her voice, so he did what any Hyuuga would do.

Turning on his bloodline limit, he looked in the direction the crying was coming from. Sure enough, he found someone close by. He identified her as a girl, and a small one at that. It was obvious she was around his age, as she was wearing one of those dresses that those scary girls who follow him around trying to give him candy wear.

Not that her attire bothered him. Being the "happy, warm" Neji, he thought she looked rather… cute…

…Especially with those two small brown buns atop her head…

After adjusting his backpack, he ran over to see what was wrong.

He knew she heard him by the way she looked up at him in that, ahem, cute, alerted way.

She began rubbing both eyes with one hand, while clutching the other behind her back.

"I'm… hic… I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't… hic… be here… hic…"

Before she could get up and run away frightened, he found himself asking, "What's wrong?"

She sat back down hesitantly. "I…"

She paused, not knowing if he would laugh at her or not.

She shook her head furiously and sniffed. "If I tell you, you're _gon_na laugh at me!" She turned her head away from him and clutched that one hand.

He stepped closer to assure her. "I promise I won't laugh at you. Father told me never to laugh at my cousin when she does things wrong, so I won't laugh at you."

The girl turned back to him, still clutching that one hand. She sniffed a bit more and rubbed at her eyes. "O…okay…"

He was surprised to see a line of blood when she held her open palm out to him.

"I… hic… was practicing with my mommy's weapons… hic… I was using that kunai over there and I hurt myself. It really, really, _really, really_ hurt…"

She became worried when he didn't say anything. She had thought he was thinking she was weird for playing with weapons, as she is a girl. To defend herself, she quickly said, "I know I'm a girl and shouldn't be playing with weapons, but I wanted to practice so I can make my mommy, who's an angel now, and my daddy proud of me when I become the best kunoichi in the world."

She expected him to make some mean comment about girls not being fit to be ninja, like most boys say. But instead, he sat down in front of her and set down his backpack.

She watched him with wide, curious eyes as he pulled out bandages. (Hey, don't blame him for wanting to train with his father and his friends, if that was what they were doing.) She pulled her hand back when she felt his fingers touch hers. It sent an unfamiliar jolt up her arm. Since, she wasn't used to strange, _…what's the word…_ handsome boys touching her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him. Helping girls was one thing she _absolutely__knew_ boys did not do.

He reached for her hand and took it, holding it palm-up. "I'm gonna put a bandage on your hand."

"But why?"

"Whaddaya mean 'why'?"

"Boys don't usually do that. They laugh at girls for trying to be good ninja."

He shook his head. "I promised I wouldn't laugh," his eyebrows furrowed, "It's not even funny."

He let go of her hand for a second and got some ointment. It was cold on her hand and stung a little.

He noticed her whimper and cleaned the cut as quickly as possible. He slowly wrapped the bandage around her hand.

"My name's Tenten. What's yours?"

"I'm Hyuuga Neji."

"It's nice to meet you. You're actually a _nice_ boy, not like those mean guys."

"…thank you… It's nice to meet you, too."

Since, she couldn't really move while he was doing this, she decided to watch him. She thought it was kind of funny that he was focusing so intently on wrapping her hand. It made his mouth twitch in a cute way and his pretty lavender eyes looked pearly.

He touched the center of her palm and she giggled uncontrollably.

His gaze went from her hand to her face. If he were older, he would have regretted doing so and tried to push down the blush, but since he is the younger "happy, warm" Neji, he let his face turn pink when he saw her smile. It looked so _bright_ with the sun falling in through the tree tops and made her look like…

…an angel.

It was all he could think of, him still being a child. He remembered his late mother telling him that angels were happy, human-like creatures with wings and bright smiles that could light up the _whole__world_. When he saw her smile, that was what he thought of.

"What?" he asked.

"It tickles!" She giggled again.

He poked her palm. "I thought it hurt."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, but when you bandage it, it tickles!" She smiled.

He would have told her that was pretty weird, but the only thing that kept coming into his mind the whole time was "angel, angel, angel."

He heard footsteps coming faintly and quickly finished bandaging her hand.

And that was how three adults, one being Hyuuga Hizashi, found them. Two children not even six, kneeling in front of each other, one holding the freshly bandaged hand of the other. (The one female of the group probably thought "KAWAII DESU!!")

Neji turned to face them and respectfully bowed. "Otou-san. Minna-san."

The girl in front of him just smiled.

The man his father had come with smiled a smile that was similar to Tenten's and said, "Well, whaddaya know, Hiashi? You were right! Our kids did find each other. Heh-heh. It looks like your son seems to _have helped my daughter out_, eh?"

Needless to say, Neji immediately let go of Tenten's hand.

Tenten pouted a bit. "_Daddy, _he was bandaging my cut. See?"

The man went over to her and picked her up. "Ah, yes," he said, while examining her bandages, "and he did a very good job, now didn't he?"

He next turned to Hizashi. "Isn't this the way Akani here used to bandage?"

The female scoffed. "I still bandage that way, Soro. At least Hizashi learned something from what I taught you guys about medicine. He even taught it to his son! I doubt you taught it to Tenten here."

Tenten opened her mouth, ready to say that she would like to learn, but her dad said, "Nah, my daughter's going to learn her own way when she starts at the Academy this year, right?" Tenten proudly nodded. "Besides! She loves weapons just like her mother and father do."

Akani rolled her eyes. "We all know you didn't begin loving weapons until you fell in love with Tejina."

"That may be true, but I still love weapons."

"That may be true, but you're still the same old idiot that always got a bad cut and needed bandaging."

"Right and you were always there to do that." He gave a mocking, "Thank you."

"Anyone would think that you would have been able to bandage perfectly from watching other people heal you."

"I can bandage!"

"But not well."

"It's been a while, Akani. How are you so sure?"

"I've always been right about things like that, haven't I?"

"Oh, so now you're saying you're smarter than me?"

"You probably just proved it."

"Okay, missy --"

Hizashi laughed, which caught the attention of everyone. Neji, who was now standing next to him, had never heard his father laugh like that before.

"Ah, you really haven't changed much have you two? Hopefully your children haven't inherited those arguing traits."

"Hmph. It's natural to the Yamanaka blood, and I'm proud of it."

"Pfft. Tenten here is amazing. Aren't you my little angel-hime?"

…There goes that word again.

Hizashi noticed Neji fidget a bit, and thought he wanted to go back to the compound now. "Well, I guess we'll be going now, right son?"

Truthfully, Neji didn't want to leave yet, but he respected his father. "Yes, Otou-san."

"Wait!"

Everyone looked at Tenten. "Daddy, can you put me down please?"

Once her feet touched the grassy ground, she ran up to Neji.

She smiled that brilliant smile and said, "Thanks for helping me Neji!"

She may not have realized it, but she grabbed his hand with her own bandaged one, while she placed that kiss on his cheek.

Whether his face turned red from embarrassment, or that weird feeling in his entire torso and chest, he didn't know. But, something told him it was the latter. Soro and Akani both "Awwwww…"-ed while Hizashi let out a low chuckle.

-

_It may have ended soon, but Neji remembered that day. It was what came into mind whenever he saw Tenten at the Academy (which was everyday), when he found out they were on the same team, when they trained together (and she just somehow got a cut on her hand), and the first time she __really kissed him. That time, his face didn't go red and he didn't look down in embarrassment._

_Whether he knows it or not; whether it ended too soon or not, that day was important to Neji…_

-

As Neji and Hizashi walked towards the Hyuuga compound, he said, "Dad…" (he called him that whenever they were all alone)

"Yes, son?"

"I saw an angel for the first time today."

"Really? Did you like that angel?"

"She was really nice… and really pretty… and really. . . . . ."

Hizashi gave out a low chuckle as his son began explaining why he really, really liked the angel he met.

* * *

**A/N: **… So? Too corny? Too cliché? Too OOC? (Well, if you really read this, you would know that this is happy-before-father-died!Neji.)

…Too fluffy?…

I thought this was a good idea. I've tried to figure out what Neji had been like before his father died, and the thought that came to mind was a free bird.

I hoped you liked it! R' and R'.

Oh, and if there's anyone who would like to be a beta-reader for me, please PM me.


	7. Drown

She sighed for the umpteenth time in what was… eh, about three hours.

It wasn't that she was afraid, no of course not. She had willed herself, at a young age, to overcome all her fears.

Yes, she remembers climbing the highest tree she could find to overcome one fear; standing all alone at night in her cramped closet to rid of three fears at once (which was why she was not claustrophobic, was not afraid of the dark, and was the only girl who didn't believe in monsters in her closet); slowly wading into water and constantly telling herself "so it's big and it's blue, who cares! I can control it, I can move myself through it! I can do this!"

She did overcome that last fear, a bit.

… But she wasn't sure referring to it as "being a good swimmer," would NOT be lying.

So, yeah, she wasn't a good swimmer.

She could float in water. She could tread water. Front and back strokes weren't a problem, really. She was 'okay' at swimming.

She just didn't feel comfortable in the water.

-

Tenten is a weapons mistress, according to her team and… everyone else in Konoha. She was the first weapons mistress ever to 'youthfully grace Konoha with her talent' in a long time, therefore, she felt proud of her title.

Being a weapons mistress, there were limits to her abilities (not that she was weak. No, if you called her weak you'd become impaled.) And there were _causes_ to these limits.

One of them just happened to be water.

In water, her weapons would not move as quickly, and she feared that _that_ would make her seem weak.

She didn't want anyone thinking she was weak (maybe that was her greatest fear). Especially not her teammates (oh, and especially not… ahem)

And there were other reasons she didn't like water either.

Like the fact that…

-

"Tenten!" the deep, baritone voice repeated.

"Uh… huh?" Neji and Gai were looking at her expectantly.

Currently, at age 12 (or 12 and-a-half), they were learning chakra control. Their team had already gone through the tree training (over and over and over and over), and now they were trying to walk on water.

Lee was swimming around, since he couldn't use ninjutsu or chakra. "Don't be afraid Tenten-chan!" he bellowed. "Your youth will certainly outshine your fears!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "I am _not_ afraid, Lee. It's just…"

Neji's eyebrow raised. "Just what?"

She closed her eyes and sighed, hoping she wouldn't make things all… dramatic and… awkward with what she was about to say.

"You guys… don't know… do you?" Lee and Neji shared a quick glance and shook their heads with a "no," and a "hn," respectively.

"Well, my dad… kind of… well, he…" she sighed again.

Gai smiled a flashing grin. "AH TENTEN, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! YOU DO NOT NEED TO CONTINUE YOUR STORY, FOR WE WILL NOT LET YOU DROWN! NO, WE SHALL PROTECT YOU OR OUR YOUTH WILL BE TAINTED FOREVER!"

Erm… in Tenten's opinion, that was enough assurance coming from Gai.

-

"You're doing fine."

She tensed a bit when she heard Neji reassure her.

He probably only decided to say that when he noticed how tense she was.

"R-right… I'm doing fine…"

"GO ON OUT FURTHER TOWARDS THE CENTER MY YOUTHFUL FLOWER!" Gai's voice could be heard from where he stood across the lake (which was pretty far). Hm. Tsunade-sama could probably have heard it. (somewhere, Tsunade sneezed)

"Okay!" was her reply.

Keeping her chakra flowing to her feet, she stepped further away from the shore.

This wasn't so hard. She could do this. She just didn't have to think about things. Yeah… everything was fine…

Splash.

Someone fell in. She turned and expected to see Gai under water or even Lee surfacing from a cannonball.

Instead, she saw Neji, the _genius_, with his hair and face drenched, fully submerged in water except for his head, glaring and arms crossed. She giggled.

"It's not funny," he said.

"WHY DON'T YOU GO CHANGE NEJI!" Gia's booming voice was heard.

Neji sighed and got out of the water. He went over to his pack and pulled out an extra shirt.

Tenten felt proud of herself as she made it to the center of the lake. The water was slowly flowing beneath her, picking up speed as it deposited into the river and fell down the water fall. She let herself move slowly with the water, watching her teammates and sensei train.

There was another splash as Lee dove in. She watched him swim out towards her and pop up. "Isn't this a glorious day to be in the water Tenten-chan!?"

She laughed. "It sure is Lee. But we're supposed to be _training_."

Lee just dove into the water again nearly wetting Tenten. "Hey!" When he resurfaced, she blew a raspberry at him. "I was _trying_ to _not_ get wet."

Lee laughed and started swimming towards Gai.

Tenten couldn't quite remember how, but her gaze lingered to Neji.

And at that exact second, (boy Fate must not like her) he shrugged off his shirt.

She felt the heat rise to her face and lost her concentration.

He turned towards her when he heard her sputter, and she turned away from him to hide her blush.

…It was probably about then that she lost control of her chakra and fell in…

-

When she woke up, she saw white-eyes (belonging to a _still shirtless, wet_ boy) and two pairs of fuzzy eyebrows staring down at her.

"Are you okay my youthful student?" Gai asked.

Tenten coughed a bit and sat up. She came face to … face with a pale toned chest, and had to scoot back.

"I think I am. What happened?" she asked.

"You lost concentration and fell in. You nearly drowned yourself."

"What made you lose concentration, Tenten-chan?"

She thought for a few seconds, then her face turned a bright pink. She turned her head and made it clear who she was looking away from.

Lee and Gai both turned towards Neji, who looked down to find himself _still_ shirtless.

He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Right." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"So… what happened after I fell in?"

"Well, Neji-kun saved you! He dived in right after you fell!" Lee proceeded by hugging Tenten. "And now your youth is saved!"

"Lee… can't breathe… need air…" Tenten gasped.

Lee let go of her. Once she was able to catch her breath, Tenten asked, "Did anything else happen?"

…The grin on Lee's face made Tenten freak out. And it just kept growing. If there weren't shadows covering his face, his teeth would be blinding…

And the scary part? His smile almost looked…

…sadistic. And that, is a word that does _not_ fit Rock Lee.

Then right after that smile, Lee went all bubbly and giggly.

How freaky.

"Ahaha. You weren't breathing… ahaha… so Neji-kun… ahaha… performed CPR… on you… ahahah… mouth-to-mouth!" And then he went into a fit of laughter. It wasn't loud laughter, thank Kami-sama, but it still bothered the two teens.

…Well, it would bother them if they hadn't been blushing completely at the moment.

Any redder, and you'd think Tenten would faint…

"Ah, my dear student Lee! I do not see the joke of the matter! It must be Neji's sudden show of youth!"

"Yosh Gai-sensei! It is because Neji-kun usually does not show emotion! But his youth shined today when he pushed us out of the way to bring Tenten-chan back to us!"

… Well, there she goes.

Fainted onto Neji's lap…

-

**A/N: **XD this was fun to write.

I know Lee may seem a bit OOC during that laughing part. Gai, too. But I think I would laugh if Neji just all of a sudden 'showed his youthfulness' while saving Tenten. Who's a _girl_. The _girl teammate_ that he _always_ trains with.

:D

Please review! I'll update _A Place To Call Home_ soon.

I'm doing these drabbles in the order they are on the 100 themes list I found, and I want to get to the one that is going to be the sequel to "Rejection."

I wonder how many of you are waiting for that.

Please review!


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